On April 23rd we reported that according to Wired investigators discovered that animators of the North Korea They were allegedly working on several anime and Western productions. Among the projects was Invincible and the anime series Dahlia in Bloom.
After Skybound Entertainment (Invincible) react, it was now the Japanese animation studio Ekachi Epilka to comment on the matter.
The official X/Twitter account for the anime series adaptation of the novel Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools (Madо̄gushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai: Kyō kara Jiyū na Shokunin Life) written by Hisaya Amagishi and illustrated by Kei published the following statement:
About what is in a series of reports. Neither the production committee nor the production studio were aware of the information, and the facts are being investigated.
Already in official website from the studio a statement was published stating that its layout sheets were used without authorization and that the studio has no connection with the drawings and arts found on the server. The company speculates that there was a leak from a subcontractor, but that EKACHI EPILKA never placed any order through a North Korean company and that there is no evidence of such orders.
In fall 2023, a cloud storage server with a North Korean Internet Protocol (IP) address was discovered to be misconfigured and obsolete. This discovery triggered an investigation that revealed a stunning panorama: daily files flowing to and from this server, showing evidence that North Korean animators were working on major productions for Western companies.
Among the files found were what appeared to be work files from “Invincible”, an original series from Amazon produced by Skybound Entertainment it’s from “Iyanu, Child of Wonder,” a Lion Forge Entertainment production for HBO Max.
Production files for the anime series adaptation of the novel were also found. Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools (Madо̄gushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai: Kyō kara Jiyū na Shokunin Life) written by Hisaya Amagishi and illustrated by Kei which will premiere in July 2024 (Summer anime season).
